What Comes After

Runner Up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalist for the Washington State Book Award Edgar Prize Finalist for Best Debut Novel by an American Author Shortlisted for the Prix Libre Nous,Best Foreign Book in French Translation New York TimesGroup Text Pick for April 2021 New York Times Editor’s Choice Pick Named a top beach read of summer by Oprah DailyGood HousekeepingThe Wall Street Journaland more ΓÇ£Nail-biting wallop of a debut . . . a thoughtfulunexpectedly optimistic tale.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇöThe New York Times ΓÇ£If you enjoyed The Searcher by Tana Frenchread What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins. . . . a mysteryΓÇöand a gritty meditation on loss and redemptiondrenched in stillness and grief.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇöThe Washington Post After the shocking death of two teenage boys tears apart a community in the Pacific Northwesta mysterious pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of those same boysΓÇÖ familiesΓÇöa moving and hopeful novel about forgiveness and human connection. In mistycoastal Washington StateIsaac lives alone with his doggrieving the recent death of his teenage sonDaniel. Next doorLorriea working single motherstruggles with a heinous act committed by her own teenage son. Separated by only a silvery stretch of treesthe two parents are emotionally strandedisolated by their great lossesΓÇöuntil an unfamiliar sixteen-year-old girl shows upbridges the gapand changes everything. EvangelineΓÇÖs arrival at first feels like a blessingbut she is also clearly hiding something. When Isaacwho has retreated into his Quaker faithisnΓÇÖt equipped to handle her aloneLorrie forges her own relationship with the girl. Soon all three characters are forced to examine what really happened in their overlapping pastsand what it all possibly means for a shared future. With a propulsive mystery at its coreWhat Comes After offers an unforgettable story of loss and angerbut also of kindness and hopecourage and forgiveness. It is a deeply moving account of strangers and friends not only helping each other forward after tragedy but inspiring a new kind of family.